Philippines

Yesterday, I went to NBI to file a clearance application for my sister who is abroad. I initially was going to take the car, but changed my mind the last minute as I figured it was better taking public transportation from Bulacan as I wasn’t too familiar with the roads.

The travel included a bus ride from Baliuag to 5th Avenue, an LRT ride from 5th Avenue to UN. It had been a long time since I last took the LRT and it brought about a feeling of nostalgia that took me to my early childhood days. It was quite fitting as I am soon leaving Manila to reside in Zamboanga (yes, my trip to Baguio didn’t push through for reasons I will tell you about in another post, maybe).

A great part of my childhood was spent in Manila. I was schooled in Malate Catholic School and my family owned a Money Changer / Gift Shop business situated in Ermita, Manila. I remember taking the jeepney from school to go to our shop so that we could all go home together – by we, I mean my siblings and Mom and Dad. It was kind of like my favorite part of the day.

My LRT ride yesterday brought me back there and to my early years of college (I graduated from Ateneo de Zamboanga, but had two years of AB Mass Comm credit from UE Recto). It was sad as it seemed not too long ago when I roamed the streets of Recto as a college student. I was awkward, bright, and full of life. God, I feel old. TT_TT

Looking from out the window of the train car, I could see the shabbiness of Manila – old houses and dilapidated buildings. It was as if I was watching scenes from an indie film. Maynila may look dirty, its buildings and streets old, but somehow, I wasn’t turned off. It was my home for a few years and no matter how much the place grew older every time I visited, it still felt like the same place I saw with bright-eyed wonder from years before.

Maybe when I go to pick up my sister’s clearance, I can take pictures. Or maybe not. Either way, I will always remember Maynila.

It’s funny how in a span of my last post and this post, I’ve realized one of my dreams. Okay, so maybe I’m getting ahead of myself as I am clearly nowhere near Benguet, but the whole moving to Benguet thing is no longer a dream out of reach.

A turn of events has led me to make a decision of moving out. And having a job that is home-based, I can pretty much go wherever I want, and I choose Baguio / Benguet. It was originally a one-year stay, but I’ve decided to shorten it to just about 3-6 months, and then I will move back to Zamboanga with my parents and start my own business.

There’s so much to do in so little time. If I want to move to Baguio soon, I need to sell most of my things now because it’s just way too costly and impractical to haul all my stuff to Baguio, especially since I won’t be staying there for long. There are so many stuff to sell!!! Furniture, kitchen appliances, other appliances. Ugh. If only I could just sell them in bundles, like a Kitchen Showcase or a Bedroom Showcase, it would really be helpful.

iPad Mini

In other news, I got me a shiny new, iPad Mini. Okay, I didn’t get it myself but I was given one, by my awesome brother who flew in from the US for a visit. He also got me a Jot Mini, which I’ve always wanted, but hasn’t really lived up to my expectations that much, yet. But I still love it anyways so I am willing to give it more chances than it deserves and because I can draw awesome stuff (really now?) on my iPad just like the image above. Hahaha..

I’m pretty stoked about all this because just months before I was really wanting to get an iPad and this stylus. And now, I have them both. Like how awesome is that? -RA

The reason I made this the last part because it is the longest and I have not had enough time the past few days to compose a decent post. This also is closest to my heart, so I wanted to dedicate a longer time in writing it.

MY JUICING JOURNEY

About a year or so ago, I’ve gotten into the juicing bandwagon. I started juicing vegetables and fruits (my sister and I even created a website about it, which is being neglected at the moment), and basically just started living a healthy life of no fastfood, alcohol, softdrinks, overly-processed foods etc. It had a positive effect on me and my body. I lost so much weight in very little time and was glowing. I’ve derailed from it a lot of times, in fact I’m not as active in juicing as I initially was, but it’s something that I know I would want to do for the rest of my life. And I am working at getting back on track (and reviving the website too!).

I haven’t been active mainly because of two reasons:

I’ve traveled so much the past year and lugging around my juicer was kind of not an option. I tried buying juices from shops, but sometimes it’s just not enough and it can become really expensive – which is my reason number 2.

It can become really expensive. LoL. I buy my organic produce from Tagaytay, which is just about a 30-minute drive from where I live. My friend and I discovered organic farms that sold organic fruits and vegetables at a reasonable price. It just becomes unreasonable when you have to think about the gas for your car and the number of times you have to go there to get produce for your everyday needs. I used to go every week and I would shell out 1-1.5k per outing. Not too bad, actually, but it’s still pricey compared to just buying stuff from the wet market nearest you which can cost you at about 500 pesos, buying the same amount of food – just the inorganic version, that is. Bah.

So I guess you know where this post is headed. The main reason why I want to move to Benguet, La Trinidad specifically, is this:

Fresh Vegetablessssssssss!!!

and this:

Strawberrieeeeeeeeeeeeeeees!

Of course, the cool weather is also up there on my list. But these two take first and second place. Just imagine all the vegetables that I can get my hands on on a daily basis – without driving too far. The thought is just insanely delicious. And with my impending move to Zamboanga (my parents’ hometown) not looking really great what with all the power problems that the city is encountering at the moment (which I can’t afford because my job is online, therefore I need to have power all the time), I AM JUST SO TEMPTED TO PACK ALL MY BAGS AND DRIVE ALL THE WAY TO LA TRINIDAD, GET AN APARTMENT, AND LIVE A LIFE MUNCHING AWAY ON CRUNCHY, FRESH VEGETABLES. LoL. And yes, that needed capslock typing. Thank you very much.

The idea is really just becoming more and more prominent. What used to be just a fantasy is becoming what could possibly be the most important decision of my life right now. And I am seriously considering saying yes to it.

AFTER A FEW MINUTES…

So I just went and checked a few properties in Baguio and the Benguet area. Haha – SO EXPENSIVE! Especially the ones that are in the city. Lucky for me because I want to stay in the provinces where the farms are. 🙂 The search has gotten me more excited about this. I should be able to get my own home maybe in 3 years. *crosses fingers* In the meantime, I’m just toying with the idea of renting a small studio unit, if not, I’ll stay in Zamboanga, buy a generator, and stay there until I’ve saved up enough to buy my own house in yummy La Trinidad.

My mom, dad, younger sister, and I spent 2 days in Cagayan de Oro for New Year’s. It was a very spur-of-the-moment trip. My dad needed to buy a car part, and my younger sister decided that we all tagged along. So she booked us round trip flights, and reserved 2 rooms at a lodge near the airport.

I’ve always wanted to visit CDO. It is well -known for its whitewater rafting and it’s just about an hour away to Bukidnon which houses the Dahilayan Adventure Park. The park is well-known for being Asia’s longest dual zipline at 840m.

I’ve always thought that when I come there, it would be a trip with friends, being their photographer as they take on all the adventures with me just sitting in the sidelines watching them (I know, boring right?). But as it turns out, I had to try all of it because my sister just wouldn’t take no for an answer. I’m glad I did because it felt great.

This is one memorable trip because I conquered so many fears. My fear of water, my fear of heights, etc etc. I even enjoyed whitewater rafting and would not hesitate to do it all over again!

Our first day was kind of blah. We arrived there at about 7am, checked-in, and slept until lunch time as were sort of still hung over from the mini drinking sesh that happened on New Year’s eve. And then we headed to SM which was near where we stayed, ate lunch and watched a movie. While we were waiting for our movie (as we were two hours early), Dimple (my younger sister) and I decided to go to the arcade and play Dance Revolution, another first for me. We sucked initially, but got the hang of it after a few tries.

We watched One More Try. My dad was against watching at first because they were all showing Tagalog movies, but after watching, he was the one who enjoyed the movie the most while the rest of us were just blah about it. Hahaha..

Our second day was the more hectic one. My parents went off to Osmena where they looked for car parts, while my sister and I booked a whitewater rafting course in the morning. We were picked up by a jeepney, and we were grouped together with a balikbayan family. It was about a 30-min ride to the site. When we got there, we underwent orientation about basic paddling, and safety precautions should anything untoward happen, like maybe getting thrown out of the boat (which happened to me by the way, FUCKING AWESOME!).

We took the beginners course which included 14 rapids, 3 of which are critical, or so the guide said. The whole ride was approximately 3 hours. The view was magnificent. We were paddling on the Cagayan River which is the river that separates Cagayan from Bukidnon. It was raining as well and all you could hear were birds chirping, water gushing, and our voices.

We stopped for a minute on the still waters for a dip. My sister went for it, while I stayed in the raft as I had already taken an unexpected swim in one of the rapids earlier. Teehee. (Funny thing, before I took that fall, my sister and I switched places because she was complaining that her butt was getting numb. If we hadn’t switch, she would’ve been the one to be thrown into the water, and not me. Pfft.)

In the afternoon, we booked a van to take us to Dahilayan Adventure Park to try the zipline. It was a long, but beautiful drive to Bukidnon. Beautiful because we passed by the Del Monte plantation and we were all in awe– too many corns and pineapples! And it was a foggy cold afternoon too. It was like being in Baguio. Fog everywhere!

When we got to the park, I was having second thoughts. I really didn’t wanna do it anymore because for me, the adventure of whitewater rafting was enough for the day. I didn’t want to go through another heart-stopping activity. But again, my sister talked me into it. I almost backed out of it when we were about to be launched but to no avail. I just sucked it up and went for it. Hahaha..

After that, we didn’t have time to go visit places in the city. So we just went to a pasalubong store to get souvenirs (I didn’t get any because the store had limited options. Meh) and headed back to the lodge to get rest and prepare for our flight early the next morning.

I never imagined that a 2-day trip could be this awesome. But it waaaaaaaaaaaas! I can never say that enough. Here are pictures from the trip (in no particular order):

Foggy!Del Monte Plantation. Long drive to DahilayanLodge restaurant

This place merits another trip. Maybe next year again? Teehee – RA

All rafting pics were taken by Timyong from 1st Rafting Adventure and all zipline pictures that had me in it were taken by my mom. 🙂

(I was gonna post B&W pictures but decided against it because I don’t have enough quality photos to post. I am skipping black and white Friday this week. 🙁 Sorry! )

Anywho, yesterday was quite a busy day for me (which was also why I couldn’t take decent b&w photos). I had to work, pack my things, clean the house, and head to the mall to buy last minute stuff before my early morning flight to Zamboanga this morning.

I only had a couple of hours snooze time because my flight was at 5:45am and I needed to be in the airport at 3:45am– which didn’t happen because I had my alarm set at 3am and while I was preppin’, I lost track of time. So we got out of the house at 4am and arrived at the airport at 4:30am. This is normally okay, but what I didn’t expect was the throng of people wanting to check-in to their flight. THIS IS THE ONLY REASON I HATE THE CHRISTMAS SEASON. Aargh, and I hate myself for not thinking about it ahead of time.

So I had to queue, and the lady at the check-in counter was so slow. I really thought I was gonna miss my flight at the rate she was going. 🙁 Good thing a guy holding up a Zamboanga sign was doing a last check-in call for Zamboanga-bound passengers as the plane was leaving in less than an hour. So, he took my plane ticket and they accommodated me first. YAY! I was too happy to even bother listening to the snide comments made by the people still waiting in the long queue. To all of you, I’m so sorry. 🙂

Here are some of the pictures I took while my friend and I were in the mall. We went to Alabang Town Center, which is my favorite mall because it’s near my place and I don’t have to go all the way to Manila and pay a gazillion pesos for expressway toll fee. =_=”. We dined at Recipes, one of our favorite restaurants and ate Kare-Kare and General’s Chicken, our favorite dishes.

General’s Chicken and Kare-Kare, two of our most-ordered dishes whenever we visit Recipes. We were wanting to get J.Co donuts, but there was a long queue — as always! (facepalm) and I was too tired to face all of that. The donuts will have to wait until I get back to Manila.So, in my disappointment, I just took a picture of this cute turtle bread from Bread Talk which was just in front of the J.Co store. Haha..Lovely lights by the Rustan’s entrance (and a random person smiling for my camera. gotta love that! ahhaha)

I wasn’t able to take any pictures when I was at the airport. I was too rushed to be all tourist-y and stuff. Hahaha.. But I got home to Zamboanga safe and sound, and probably haggard-looking. LOL. I am excited as this is the first time in a long time that I will be spending Christmas and New Year’s at home with my parents and my younger sister who’s flying back from Singapore. Happy times. — RA

Last August, I was lucky enough to tag along with my friend in a family-slash-birthday trip to Bohol. We stayed in Dumaluan Beach Resort and went on a tour.

One of our stops was this place. I forgot what the place was called. But the reason we went there was for a ride that’s called The Plunge. Reena and her brother went for it while I and Tita Offie took pictures.

The Adventure Menu. We didn’t try any of the other stuff because they weren’t available at the time (and we didn’t have the money anyways!). LOLYou’re not paying for the ride. You’re paying for the experience.Reena after the drop.Riz after the drop.Drop pointA view of what’s below.

One of the highlights of the tour was a buffet lunch afloat a boat while cruising through the river. It was an awesome experience. I saw a group of dogs fishing:

Dogs!!!Hello fella.Goodness. This was stressful.Cold-blooded.Underwater shot of Reena. I used my DSLR camera here with underwater protection. It didn’t have the best quality. Thankfully the water was crystal clear.

Too bad this was a rather short trip. I would’ve wanted to explore Cebu right after, but time didn’t permit. Maybe Cebu deserves a whole different trip/tour altogether. Hmm, maybe in 2013. –RA

I went to Sunrise Buckets yesterday for the second time and thought I’d share pictures of the place here in my blog. They have the cutest interior design! And their wings are great too!

Their chicken comes in this cute red bucket.You get more when you take your food out. Awesome!Some surf love.More cute stuffYes we did try the Sunrise Original the first time we went there and their Ultimate Crazy Hot flavor and it was just that – CRAZY HOT!!!The most amazing rootbeer float I’ve ever had.Reena devouring the icecream on her rootbeer floatChili Cheese FriesMore wall art.Order counter. They don’t charge a service fee, so the customers go up to this counter and place their orders.Cute display.Life’s a beach. INDEED.Surfboards on the wall.I’ve only been to Bangkok out of all these. 🙁My flavor? I loved the BBQ Berry Sauce! And the Jack Daniels wasn’t so bad too. I love spicy food, but I’ll leave the Ultimate Crazy Hot flavor to the crazier people out there. Haha. So what’s yours?Messages on post-its.Cute designsBest root beer ever.

I am a bit sad that I didn’t get a single decent picture of their chicken wings. *fail* I took one before eating but I was too hungry to bother checking if it was a good shot or not. Hahaha.. sorry.

I know Sunrise Buckets also has a branch in Greenhills but I haven’t dined there yet. The Grove is nearer to my place.

Out of all the places I’ve ever been to in the Philippines, this one’s my favorite. It is so clean and it makes me proud that such a place exists in my country. It gives me some sort of hope that we can still be as clean as Singapore, if we wanted to.

We went on a tour and met a lot of nice people. It reminded me of when I was in Thailand – foreigners everywhere, accommodating tour guides, smiles, sand, and beach! We stayed at a beachfront resort, though the beach wasn’t really swimmable, the overall service was okay. Their breakfast was a disappointment, and their restaurant didn’t have as much options. The good thing was, Puerto Princesa was a place full of restaurants with good food. And our resort was accommodating enough to drive their guests to the town proper when they want to go out. We tried Kalui and Balinsasayaw which were both great.

Here are some photos from the tour:

The bar at the resort restaurant.The dog at the resort.A flower that our tour van had to stop for so we could take pictures. I don’t know what kind of flower this is but took a picture anyways.

I mentioned a couple of posts back that my friends were coming over to Zamboanga for a visit. So they did and one of the places we went to was The Great Santa Cruz Island.

A view Sta Cruz Island from Paseo del Mar

It was my first time to go there despite the fact that I lived in Zamboanga city for 4 years when I was in college, and that we owned a house here. It’s just that years ago, going there was just never an option, what with the rampant kidnappings during those times.

But it was always a dream for me to go there. I remember that one of our text books back in grade school featured Sta Cruz Island, describing it as a heart-shaped island that is known for its pink sand. As a child, hearing of a place with pink sand (PINK! As in my favorite color. WTF o_O) was pretty awesome and dreamy. And the fact that it was in my parents’ hometown made it way awesome-r. LOL. Oh, and did I mention it was heart-shaped too? ASJGAKDFDDJAA&; *flails* Continue reading →

I’ve been so busy the past few weeks. Had a trip to Bohol, had a 3-day meeting with the boss, finished a layout, and I am yet to upload all my travel pictures and portraits that I took of my brother’s family.

Anywho, last Saturday, I flew back to Zamboanga City, my hometown (well, it’s my parents’ hometown, I was born and raised in Manila, does that make me a Zamboangueña? WTF). I will be staying here for a month (ah, the joys of working from home!!!) and in a week’s time, 2 of my closest friends will be coming over to visit. So yes, I will be playing the part of a tour guide, when I barely know this place. WTF. I’ve managed to read a few articles over the internet and I’ve decided on an itinerary. I’ll be sure to post our adventure pictures. I am excited because I don’t get to show Zamboanga to many of my friends who live in Manila.

One of the things I look forward to whenever I come home for a visit, aside from my mom’s delicious cooking, is taking pictures of my her flowers/plants. She has a fair number of plants in her garden. Here are a couple of shots from today:

I love this shot so much! This flower (don’t ask me what it’s called) was partly hidden by leaves from other plants but some part of it was lighted by the sun, thus the dark background. It’s almost as if it’s illuminating light! Or maybe it’s just me and my imagination? o_O?

And here is a picture of a Gumamela (Hibiscus Flower) or just the middle part of it. Meh. :

I will be taking more pictures in the next few days so you will be getting more plants for sure. Bear with me?